


New Friends

by fezwearingjellybananas



Series: Iris West-Allen Appreciation Week 2020 [5]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, F/F, Minor Barry Allen/Cisco Ramon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:20:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24929044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fezwearingjellybananas/pseuds/fezwearingjellybananas
Summary: Kendra was the new girl at Jitters, and Iris was pretty sure this was a crush. But it would be nice to be Kendra's friend
Relationships: Kendra Saunders/Iris West
Series: Iris West-Allen Appreciation Week 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1798396
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	New Friends

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Iris Week Day 5: Coffee Shop AU

Kendra was new. New to Jitters, new to Central, a new friend, and Iris' new crush. She was just so nice.

But Kendra wasn't looking for a date so soon after moving. She was still getting settled. And Iris knew that, because several customers had asked her out and that's what Kendra had said. Never mind that it was inappropriate to ask someone out while they were working (Iris had used the excuse of boyfriend last time and Barry had been more than happy to drop by and fake date her, mostly because he'd got blueberry muffins out of it). And at least working with someone you were on equal footing, but it would be really awkward if she said no, and Iris didn't even know if she was into girls.

"Barry and I work together," Cisco said when Iris explained her dilemma.

"In different departments," Iris said. "You could have avoided him if he'd said no. The space behind Jitters' counter is a lot smaller than S.T.A.R. Labs."

"We're both in the Cortex more often than not, and I still hold the record for being sent to Barry's lab the most."

"That's not an achievement you should be proud of."

"Still. Since we've started dating he has decided kissing me better is allowed. Anyway, why not ask Kendra out for drinks and make it clear that it's up to her whether she wants it to be a date or not? Oh, she can join us for Trivia night, we need a fourth person, and because you'd be with friends it doesn't have to be a date."

"You know Trivia night is at Jitters. The place we both work."

"Yes. You were the one who told us there was one. That makes it even less of a date, but you can also make it clear you want to get to know her as a person, not just a co-worker you like."

"You're the one breaking it to Wally that we already have a full team."

"I vote we make Barry do it."

* * *

Trivia Night was casual enough Iris didn't have to worry about what to wear. She did absolutely still worry about what to wear, but Barry and Cisco helped her pick out a nice summer dress and it wasn't too much. Pretty, but casual pretty. She'd fit in perfectly.

Kendra was in a nice shirt, brown leather jacket, and jeans, and Iris would admit to having to stop for a brief second.

"Hey," Kendra said. "Nice dress."

"Thanks. You look nice too."

"Thanks. Hi, Barry."

"Hi, Kendra. This is my boyfriend, Cisco."

"Oh," Kendra said. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too," Cisco said. "Shall we?"

"I think I saw a table for four," Kendra said. There were a few teams dotted around, but it was easy enough to find a table, and Iris and Kendra sat one side with Barry and Cisco on the other. "So, how long have you two been together?"

"A few months," Cisco said. "But I was smitten from the moment Doctor Wells showed me around and he was standing in his lab covered in something red."

"It was just dye," Barry said. "All my socks turned pink when I tried washing that lab coat."

"Not what it looked like at the time."

"It did take you setting yourself on fire playing with a flamethrower to pluck up the courage to ask me out.”

"I only singed my eyebrows," Cisco said. "The Heat Gun is not actually a flamethrower, it is a testing device for my firefighter's suit, and I had a fire extinguisher and a bucket of water."

"Your Cold Gun can reach absolute zero."

"And I designed it to perfectly counter any potential fires caused while testing using the Heat Gun, ergo, it is a fire extinguisher."

"Technically true."

"What is you do exactly?" Kendra asked.

"I'm a mechanical engineer at S.T.A.R. Labs," Cisco said. "Most of my work is focused on the particle accelerator at the moment, but I have other projects."

"And Barry, you work at S.T.A.R. Labs too."

"Yes, I'm the glorified school nurse."

"You do more than that," Iris said.

"I'm a doctor," Barry said. "With a specialisation in biochemistry and currently working in predominantly research science, but I did my M.D. rather than a PhD like almost everyone at S.T.A.R., so Doctor Wells did give me the Cortex Annex Lab for people to pop in to ask for medical advice or for check-ups if necessary, or for if they set their eyebrows on fire trying to prove a point."

"It's a suit for firefighters," Cisco said. "It has to withstand the temperatures reached inside burning buildings. What about you, Kendra, Iris said you only moved here recently?"

"Just a few months ago," Kendra said. "It was quite an impulsive decision really, I've lived in Wisconsin my whole life and I wanted something new, and the estate agent I was talking to said she was from Keystone originally and the Gem Cities were nice, I came down for a weekend to see what it was like and I stayed. It just felt like the right decision in that moment. Like something in Central was calling out to me to stay. It seems to be a good decision so far."

"It is a nice city," Iris said. "I've lived here my whole life, there a few problems, but overall, it's quite nice."

"Speaking of problems," Barry said. "How's Wally's blog?"

"He is going to be the death of Dad. I think he would have preferred it if Wally stuck with engineering, but Wally's enjoying himself. If he asks you to cover for him so he can go to Starling chasing this Arrow guy, do not let him. My little brother," Iris said to Kendra. "He's taking journalism and very serious about a career in it."

"And he's planning on investigating the Arrow," Kendra said.

"Luckily he hasn't had a chance yet, but Wally's always been interested more unusual stories."

"Good luck to him. At least he knows what he wants to do.”

“That’s true,” Iris said. “Why don’t I go get drinks, I’m sure Cisco’s already come up with a name.”

“I might have a few ideas,” Cisco said.

* * *

Trivia Night went pretty well. Iris enjoyed herself. Kendra seemed to enjoy herself. Barry and Cisco tried not to be too disgustingly cute, which Iris assumed was their attempts to make it clear this was just a friend thing and to try not to remind Iris that spending the evening hanging out with Kendra was very much confirmation these were not completely platonic feelings.

And Iris walked Kendra out to her car while Barry and Cisco made an excuse about seeing someone they knew. Iris was fairly sure it was just an excuse.

“Cisco seems nice,” Kendra said.

“He is,” Iris said. “I like him a lot.”

“And he and Barry are happy together?”

“So far.”

“You know them well.”

“Barry’s my best friend. We met when we were four, we went to school together, and his parents live three doors down from my dad, we grew up together. I’m guessing if you moved here impulsively you don’t really know anyone in this city, do you?”

“My neighbours seem nice. Everyone at Jitters seems nice.”

“Tell you what,” Iris said. “When are you shifts next week? I could give you a tour of the city if you want, show you all the local sights. If we’re both free at the same time.”

“That would be good. I have next Thursday off.”

“Great. I could meet you somewhere, or pick you up if you want?”

“If you give me your number, I can text you, sort it all out.”

“Yeah. Yeah, that sounds good.”

* * *

So far Iris had shown Kendra the museum, they’d walked past the opera house, and now they were wandering around the botanical gardens.

“There’s Granite Peak just above Englewood too, that’s got a lot of nice walks, and there’s regular buses during the day. But the café here is nicer, and it’s more convenient if you’re around the city centre.”

“It’s nice,” Kendra said. “I haven’t explored on my own yet.”

“If you ever need a friend to visit somewhere with, you do have my number now.”

“I’ll take you up on that.”

“How do you feel about bowling?”

* * *

“So, you’re not dating,” Barry said, still focused on the fabric in his hands.

“No,” Iris said. “We’re friends.”

“But you like her. And you’re spending a lot of time with her showing her the city, visiting your favourite cafés, strolls around the Peaks and the Gardens, bowling, just the two of you.”

“I do those things with you.”

“But it’s not the same.”

“No,” Iris said. “But I really am just trying to be friends. She’s moved to a new city with no one she knows, having a friend in all that is important.”

“Still got a crush though.”

“I think it’s actually getting worse. Kendra’s just so nice. She took history, she’s thinking about extra study and becoming a history teacher, I have learnt so much about Ancient Egypt just by talking to her. She’s really passionate about it. She’s as passionate as Wally is about reporting and Cisco is about engineering.”

“Still don’t know what you want to do, huh.”

“You just knew.”

“I just wanted to be like my dad,” Barry said. “I like science, I like helping people, I’m not afraid of needles, it made sense. Working at S.T.A.R. Labs wasn’t in the plan but when Harrison Wells stops by and offers you a job, you don’t say no. But you remember when I was fifteen and wanted to be a C.S.I.? Or when I was twelve and wanted to be an astronaut? Or seven when I wanted to drive a bulldozer? It hasn’t been one thing I’ve known forever. You never know, maybe in twenty years I’ll want to try something different. You don’t have to know, Iris. You don’t ever have to know. You think Ma always wanted to be an estate agent? She fell into it because they offered good pay and convenient hours for raising a kid and she stuck with it.”

“Law was interesting. I just don’t know if lawyer is the right choice.”

“See if the D.A. will let you help out for a while, maybe that’ll help. Joe knows her, right?”

“Cecile? She’s nice.”

“You could help Joe with his P.I. business.”

“Something tells me he wouldn’t be fond of that plan. You remember when I floated the idea of police academy?”

“Joe didn’t exactly part C.C.P.D. on the best of terms. And maybe you could have changed things from the inside, but that wasn’t your only reason.”

“It’s been thirteen years. It’s never going to be solved, Barry. Dad tried.”

Barry put down his fabric, walked over, and hugged her.

“There’s always a chance.”

“How are you always so optimistic?”

“It’s why you love me.” Barry stood up and grinned. “That and my fantastic baking skills. Brownies?”

“Thanks, Bare. What are you working on now?”

“I thought I’d embroider Ma a cushion for her birthday.”

“Nora’s birthday isn’t for another five months.”

“I need time to sew it. That’s just my test piece, I’m thinking the pale pink roses go quite nicely with lavender, and ivy leaves? Maybe I should look up flower language for other ideas, if I have pale pink and purple I’ll probably want to stick to those colours, maybe light blue, I was thinking lilies but if I’m using white fabric maybe pink ones would be better. Or hyacinths maybe, what do you think?”

“I think considering you took this up just to practise your sewing while you were studying even though this is a different kind of sewing, you’re pretty good at it.”

“Thanks. Are you still writing your book?”

“I’ve got writer’s block again. Maybe it’s just life. I’m just stuck.”

“You’re only twenty-five. But at least you know how to deal with the feelings for Kendra thing.”

* * *

West-Allen Movie Night was a once a month family thing. But Barry had started inviting Cisco. And both of them were encouraging her to invite Kendra, and Wally wanted to meet her. And Kendra had said she was free.

“Are there any sort of films you don’t like?” Iris asked. “We usually don’t pick until on the spot, but we do tend to steer away from horror.”

“I’m sure you’ll pick something good,” Kendra said.

“Great. It’s at Barry’s and mine, Friday at eight?”

“I’ll be there.”

* * *

Barry had baked brownies. And they’d ordered pizza. Iris had already checked what Kendra wanted.

She arrived at dead on eight, just as the pizza guy was leaving.

“Hi,” Iris said.

“Hi,” Kendra said. “I brought snacks?”

“Thank you. Come in, the pizza’s just got here, I’ll get you a drink.”

“Thanks.”

“-Treasure Planet is a beautiful film, and an interesting setting-”

“I’m not disputing that; I’m just saying nothing can top the Muppets version-”

“I take it they’re thinking Treasure Island?” Kendra asked.

“I have no idea,” Iris said. “Wally, Cisco, Kendra’s here.”

“Hi!” Wally said. “Nice to meet you.”

“Hi Kendra,” Cisco said. “What do you think, Treasure Planet or Muppets’ Treasure Island?”

“They are both good films.”

“Why not watch both,” Barry said. “Flip a coin to see which first, then watch the other one either next month or right after.”

“I can stay for two films,” Kendra said.

* * *

“I like Kendra,” Wally said. “She’s nice.”

“She is,” Iris said. “She’s really nice.”

“You should probably talk to her.”

“I don’t know.”

“You should.”

“You should talk to Dad.”

“He’s just being stubborn. He knows I’ve been researching unusual cases and Starling has a vigilante and who knows what else going on.”

“Wally, what happened-”

“There was a man made of lightning, Iris. You saw him too.”

“I don’t know what I saw. Maybe it was a trick of the light.”

“We both know it wasn’t. We both know the man who did this is still out there, and no one even tried looking for him. But I can.”

“Please be careful.”

“I will. I promise.”

* * *

And Tony Woodward was back. Of course he was. Did he really not understand what no meant?

“Go on, West,” he said. “You can do better than that weirdo.”

“Why do you think insulting Barry is going to get me to like you?” Iris asked.

“I saw him the other day, you know. Walking around holding hands with someone else. Kissing them.”

“Get out, Tony. If you come back, I’m taking out a restraining order.”

“He’s cheating on you.”

“Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” Kendra said. “Now.”

“Or what. You’ll make me?”

“You are currently causing a scene. Jitters happens to be very popular with local law enforcement. I’m sure if you wait a few more minutes, some will show up.”

“Fine. You’ll change your mind, West.”

Tony slunk off.

“Are you okay?” Kendra asked.

“Yeah,” Iris said. “He just shows up sometimes. Thanks.”

“You sure you’re okay?”

“I’ll be fine.”

* * *

Kendra was waiting by the door when Iris finished her shift. She smiled.

“I thought you might want someone to walk you home.”

“You don’t have to.”

“It would make me feel better too.”

“Thanks, Kendra.”

Kendra smiled and linked her arm through Iris’.

“Want to talk about it?”

“We went to school together. Tony was the school bully.”

“What he said about Barry...”

“A few months back he got it in his head asking me out would be a good idea, but he didn’t stop, so Barry and I made him think we were dating. Everyone used to say we probably were. And it did make Tony back off again, but if he saw Barry with Cisco, he must have decided to try again. We used to be two of his favourite targets. He was incredibly cruel after my mother died, I still remember all the things he said, he can’t think this is a good idea.”

“You don’t talk about her much.”

“I was eleven. Dad was working a night shift, he worked for C.C.P.D. back then. Someone broke in. They never found out who. The only person they questioned was Dad, but he had an alibi responding to another call. He quit his job and tried looking himself, it’s how he ended up being a P.I., but all he had to go on was what Wally and I saw, and it wasn’t helpful.”

“What did you see?”

“Lightning. I don’t know what caused it. It just looked like there was yellow and purple lightning surrounding her, and then Wally and I were outside. He saw it too. It’s one reason he picked journalism.”

“I’m sorry, Iris.”

“It was a long time ago. I just wish I knew what happened.”

“Is that why you haven’t looked at restraining orders before?”

“Maybe. He hasn’t been physically threatening, and Dad made sure I could look after myself, but he is frustrating.”

“Dealing with entitled people is not going to be something I miss.”

“You’re leaving?”

“Not soon. I applied to C.C.U., to do my teaching qualification. It starts in September. I’ll probably still work weekends and evenings, I still have rent and food to cover, but once the year is up hopefully I’ll find a local school looking for a history teacher.”

“I’ll miss you.”

“I won’t be going anywhere. I like Central. It’s a nice city. And it’s got nice people. Even if I do move again, we can stay friends. I hope?”

“I hope so too. I like you a lot.”

“I like you too.”

“Maybe as more than a friend. If that was something you wanted.”

“I think I would.”

“Really?”

“We could try. If that was something you wanted.”

“Yeah. That would be nice.”

**Author's Note:**

> Oh man titles are so hard sometimes.
> 
> Tomorrow's fic will be losely related to this one


End file.
